Shots Across The Bow

>>I'm not aware of any study he's done in foreign policy, or on interpretations of the Bill of Rights

To be fair, how many journalists or bloggers have either - and it doesn't stop us from pontificating long and hard about both...

>>Is this another case of a celebrity trading on fame to forward a political position?

Ford's an American, and has the right to his opinion - and the right to express it. Just because he's a celebrity and has the means to grab a spotlight doesn't mean he shouldn't.

Sure, it could hurt his public image - but the in circles he runs in (i.e. Hollywood) it would seem odd for him not to take that stance.

I've never been able to figure out why people have a hard time with celebrities expressing their political opinions in public.

And how many journalists come to us, seeking our opinions?

Nada, unless you're Reynolds. The fault is not wholly with Ford and other celebrities, but with a culture which equates success in one field with knowledge in another.

Not to pontificate or anything, but in my opinion, his increased access to media incurs an increased responsibility to know something about what he's talking about. Despite Charles Barkley's famous claim that he isn't a role model, the indisputable fact is that people tend to give more weight to statements from people they know and admire. Too many celebrities spout off uninformed gibberish, rather than thoughtful commentary, abdicating that responsibility.

Heck, I only have a few readers, but I still exercise care in making sure that when I spout off, I have facts to back up my position, and that my reasoning is sound.

I agree, Ford has every right to his opinion, and if people want to hear it, more power to them. At the same time, I have the right to express my opinion, in this case, total derision, of that opinion.

My only problem with Ford is that he didnt have the balls to say it in the United States. Power to him to speak from his heart but at least have the cohenes to say it while standing in your own country instead of trying to amuse the left leaning/loaded question Brits while promoting your movie...

>>Not to pontificate or anything, but in my opinion, his increased access to media incurs an increased responsibility to know something about what he's talking about. Despite Charles Barkley's famous claim that he isn't a role model, the indisputable fact is that people tend to give more weight to statements from people they know and admire.

You've taken it for granted that Ford has no specialized training in the subjects he's addressing, but since he has opinions that differ from yours he needs to "know something about what he's talking about".

What if he'd said, "I think our foreign policy is going in the right direction. I agree that it was good that we used military force in Iraq. I don't think we need to restrict the availability of guns in the US. I don't regret what we've done in Iraq so far."

Those are all subjects I believe you'd agree with - however, since, as you said, he has no training in foreign policy or Constitutional interpretation, shouldn't those hypothetical views be held in as much suspicion as the ones he actually made?

>> Too many celebrities spout off uninformed gibberish, rather than thoughtful commentary, abdicating that responsibility.

Again, because you don't agree with his conclusions they're uninformed gibberish. If you had agreed with them, would they then be thoughtful commentary, instead?

My point is I think you need to decide which you really disagree with: his opinions themselves, or the method in which he arrived at them - which are the same methods 99% of the rest of us arrive at ours: from the news, from each other, from as much data as we can gather in our day-to-day lives.